Fraudster arrested in Odisha capital for duping businessman

Commissionerate police today arrested a fraudster from Chandia village in Balichandrapur Tehsil of Jajpur district in Odisha for allegedly cheating a businessman by promising him to arrange a bank loan.

Pic: Biswaranjan Mishra

Acting on a complaint lodged by the businessman Dhurvacharan Rana, of Gatirout Patna in Cuttack district with the Chandrasekharpur police station, police arrested Pravat Rana (28) today.

According to the police, Pravat, at present staying in Chandrasekharpur area here, had promised the complainant to arrange for him a bank loan to purchase a truck to engage it in his business. The accused convinced the businessman that he knew a bank official who can manage the loan for him. The accused had taken RS 15,000 from him earlier.

On May 6, the accused again called the complainant to bring with him Rs 1.65 lakh along with the documents for verification. Claiming to have verified the documents for surety, he took the money from Dhurvacharan as processing fee in return for a demand draft.

“When Dhurvacharan realised the draft was a fake, he approached us and lodged a complaint in this regard,” a police officer said.

In the meantime, the accused gave the slip from the spot after taking the amount and purchased a black colour Pulsar bike from Cuttack and spent the rest of the money, police sources added.

“Today Dhurvacharan was nabbed by the police team following a trap in the city. We have recovered Rs 50,000 from his possession. Two motor cycles used by the accused in committing the crime have also been seized,” said Devi Shankar Pratap, Inspector-in-charge of Chandrasekharpur police station.